Box

ABSTRACT

A box, in particular a pastry box, comprising a cover lid and a base recipient, said cover lid being removable applied on said base recipient, said cover lid comprising a first side and a second side, said first and second side having a common edge, a border of said coverlid, situated opposite to said common edge, being provided with a strip, said strip being provided with at least one protrusion extending offset from a borderline of said strip, on said protrusion there being applied a cam having a front side extending in a direction substantially parallel to said first side when said strip extends substantially perpendicular with respect to said first side in such a manner as to extend inside said base recipient when said cover lid is mounted on said base recipient, said front side being situated offset from said borderline, said base recipient being provided with a first set of openings applied on a side of said base recipient and dimensioned in such a manner as to enable said protrusion to penetrate through said opening, said front side of each of said cams forming a hinge line (h 2 ) for said cover lid when said protrusions have penetrated through said openings.

The present invention relates to a box, in particular a pastry box,comprising a cover lid and a base recipient, said coverlid beingremovable applied on said base recipient, said cover lid comprising afirst side provided to form a top plane and a second side provided toform a front plane of said box, said first and second side having acommon edge.

Such a box is well known and commonly used for packing pastries, inparticular in supermarkets. The use of a transparent coverlid enablesthat the consumer sees through the transparent coverlid what kind ofpastry the box contains, thereby permitting a hygienic storage of thepastry. Because the coverlid is removably applied on the box recipient,both the coverlid and the base recipient can be separately stored,thereby enabling to save storage space. The commonly used boxes aregenerally of the “blister type”, which signifies that the coverlid andthe base recipient are circularly shaped and click into each other overthe whole periphery of the box.

A drawback of the known boxes is that the closing mechanism of the boxoften implies a cumbersome opening. Moreover, as the closure extendsover a generally circular periphery, a hinge movement of the coverlidwith respect to the base member is only possible after complete removalof the coverlid.

It is an object of the invention to provide a box with a transparentcover lid, which can hinge with respect to the base recipient in areliable manner without affecting the reliability of the boxconstruction.

For this purpose a box according to the present invention ischaracterised in that a border of one of said first or second sides,which border is situated opposite to said common edge, is provided witha strip, which strip extends substantially perpendicular to the side onwhich it is applied when said cover lid is mounted on said baserecipient, said strip being provided with at least one protrusionextending offset from a borderline of said strip, on said protrusionthere being applied a cam having a front side extending in a directionsubstantially parallel to said first side when said strip extendssubstantially perpendicular with respect to said first side in such amanner as to extend inside said base recipient when said cover lid ismounted on said base recipient, said front side being situated offsetfrom said borderline, said base recipient being provided with a firstset of openings dimensioned in such a manner as to enable saidprotrusion to penetrate through said opening, said front side of each ofsaid cams forming a hinge line for said cover lid when said protrusionshave penetrated through said openings. The use of at least one cam and afirst set of openings in which the respective cam penetrate, enables tomaintain the removable character of the cover lid. Since the cams areapplied on protrusions which themselves extend offset the strip appliedon a respective side of the cover lid, the openings in the base memberscan also be applied offset from the edge of the side of the baserecipient in which the openings are applied. Due to the fact that astrip extends substantially perpendicular with respect to the border ofthe side on which it is applied, the strip will, when the cover lid ismounted on the box, extend substantially parallel with that side of thebase recipient on which it rests, thereby permitting a suitableinteraction between the cover lid and the base recipient. Because thecams have a front side situated offset from the borderline of the strip,the hinge line will be situated on the inside of the base recipient,thereby enabling a hinge movement of the cam inside the base recipient.Since the cam hinges inside the base recipient, the hinging movementwill not cause the cam to leave the inside and a reliable hingingmovement as well as a reliable connection of the coverlid to the baserecipient is obtained.

A first preferred embodiment of a box according to the invention ischaracterised in that said strip is hingedly applied on said side ofsaid cover lid and extends along a further hinge line, which furtherhinge line extends over substantially a whole length of said border. Byhingedly applying the strip on the coverlid an easy manufacturing of thefirst strip becomes possible and the perpendicular extension of thestrip with respect to the lid is automatically obtained when applyingthe coverlid on the base recipient.

Preferably said strip is applied on said first side and said first setof openings is applied on a back of said base recipient. In such amanner an easy application of the coverlid on the base recipient isobtained.

A second preferred embodiment of a box according to the invention ischaracterised in that said protrusion comprises a base plane, said frontside of said cam extending substantially perpendicular with respect tosaid base plane, each of said cams having a back provided with a roundedshape extending downwards from an upper edge of said front side. Therounded shape of the back of the cam enables an easy penetration of thecam into the openings.

A third preferred embodiment of a box according to the invention ischaracterised in that said protrusion comprises a peripheral strokesurrounding a basis of said cam. The peripheral stroke reinforces thecam and renders its manufacturing more easy.

Preferably said first hinge line is formed by cuts segmentwise appliedin said material of said coverlid. Cuts can be easily applied in plasticmaterial.

A fourth preferred embodiment of a box according to the invention ischaracterised in that said second side comprises a border, situatedopposite to said common edge and provided with at least one furtherprotrusion, extending offset from said border, said base recipient beingprovided with a second set of openings applied on a front side of saidbase recipient and dimensioned in such a manner as to enable saidfurther protrusion to penetrate through said opening of said second set.A reliable closure of the coverlid with the base recipient is thusobtained.

Preferably said first side comprises a first and a second elongatedcavity extending each time along a fraction of a lateral border of saidfirst side. The cavities retain in such a manner the lateral sides ofthe base recipient.

A fifth preferred embodiment of a box according to the invention ischaracterised in that said openings of said first set are delimited byan upper side, an underside and lateral sides, each of said lateralsides forming an acute angle with said upper side. The acute anglesretain the protrusion inside the opening.

Preferably said first flap is trapezium shaped. A stacking of the basemembers is thus possible.

The invention will now be described in more details with reference to apreferred embodiment illustrated in the annexed drawings. In thedrawings:

FIG. 1 shows an overall view of a box according to the invention;

FIG. 2 shows a detailed view of a cover lid as a component of a boxaccording to the invention;

FIG. 3 shows a detailed view of the protrusion provided with a cam;

FIG. 4 illustrates how the cover lid is to be mounted on the baserecipient;

FIGS. 5 to 9 illustrate the hinged movement of the cover lid withrespect to the base recipient;

FIG. 10 illustrates the closure of the box;

FIGS. 11 and 12 show a detail of the front side of the base recipient;and

FIGS. 13 a +b and FIG. 14 show another embodiment of a box according tothe invention.

In the drawings, a same reference sign has been allocated to a same oranalogous element.

The box 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 is in particular provided for packingpastries. The invention is however not limited to a pastry box and thebox could also be used for other objects such as toys, pens or the like.The box comprises a base recipient 2, preferably made of cardboard and acoverlid 3 preferably made of transparent material, in particularplastic material, such as polyethylene. The advantage of usingpolyethylene is that it can be thermoformed. The fact that the coverlidis made of transparent material enables to see the stuff stored in thebox through the coverlid. Using cardboard for the base recipient enablesto give the pastry box its familiar look and the possibility to see thequality of the pastry.

The base recipient 2 comprises a back 4, which is preferably shaped as atrapezium and wherein the upper border of the back forms the upperborder of the trapezium. The trapezium shape enables an easy and spacesaving stacking of the empty base recipients. The back 4 is hingedlyconnected to a first flap 8 extending from an upper border of that back.The first flap 8 extends substantially perpendicular to the back whenthe base recipient is in mounted configuration.

The base recipient 2 further comprises a bottom side 5 and two lateralsides 6 and 7. The lateral sides are preferably hingedly connected tothe back and the bottom side in order to fold up the sides of the baserecipient. Folding lines 10 and 11 applied on the lateral sides 6 and 7contribute also to the folding up of the base recipient. The front endof the lateral sides 6 and 7 have preferably an inclined shape in orderto facilitate the closure by the closure lid 3 and enable a lateral lookinto at least a part of the box. A second flap 9 extends from the bottomside 5 of the base recipient. The second flap extends substantiallyperpendicular to the bottom side when the box is in mountedconfiguration. The second flap is preferably trapezium shaped, an upperborder of the trapezium forming the upper border of the second flap.

The back 4 of the base recipient comprises a first set of openings 14which will be described in more detail hereinafter. Although a singleopening could be sufficient for the first set of openings, the first setpreferably comprises two openings. The openings are applied by cuttingout pieces of cardboard when the base recipient is made of cardboard. Asecond set of openings 15, 16 is applied on the front side of the baserecipient at the transition between the bottom side 5 and the secondflap 9.

The coverlid 3 illustrated in FIG. 2 comprises a first side 17 providedto form a top plane of the coverlid when mounted on the base recipient.A second side 18 of the coverlid is provided to form a front plane ofthat coverlid. The first and second side have a common edge 21connecting them. The coverlid is further provided with lateral sides 19and 20 linked to the first and second side. The lateral sides arepreferably triangularly shaped as this facilitates the manufacturing ofthe coverlid by thermoformation.

The second side 18 of the coverlid is preferably trapezium shaped, wherethe common edge 21 forms the top side of the trapezium. The trapeziumshape of this second side also favourably contributes to themanufacturing of the coverlid by thermoformation.

The first side 17 of the cover lid preferably comprises a first 22 and asecond 23 elongated cavity extending each time along a fraction of alateral border of the first side The elongated cavities form, as if tosay, grooves in the top plane of the coverlid and extend inwardly of thebase recipient when the coverlid is mounted on the base member. Theelongated cavities serve to retain the lateral sides 6 ad 7 of the baserecipient when the coverlid is mounted thereon and avoid in such amanner that the lateral sides 6 and 7 collapse and could damage thepastry stored inside the box.

A border of the first side 17, which is situated opposite to the commonedge 21 is provided with a strip 24. The strip is preferably made of thesame material as the one of which the coverlid is made. The strip 24 ispreferably hingedly applied on the border of the coverlid and the borderforms a hinge line (h1). The strip extends over substantially the wholelength of the border and has preferably rounded extremities. The hingedconnection between the first side 17 and the strip 24 is preferablyobtained by applying along the first hinge line h1 segmentwise cuts intothe material of which the coverlid is made. Alternatively the strip 24could not extend over the whole length of the border and be made by oneor more segments.

Although the hinged connection between the strip 24 and the first side17 is preferred, a rigid connection could also be envisaged. It ishowever important that when the coverlid 1 is mounted on the baserecipient 2, the strip 24 extends substantially perpendicular withrespect to that side of the cover lid on which it is applied. In thepreferred embodiment, showed in the FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, the strip isapplied on the first side 17 of the coverlid. It could however also bepossible to apply the strip 24 on the second side 18 of the coverlid, i.e. on the border 32 of the second side.

The strip 24 is provided with at least one protrusion 25 extendingoffset from a borderline of the strip. In FIG. 2, two protrusions areshown as being the preferred embodiment. However for a box of a smallerdimension, one protrusion is sufficient. The protrusions are preferablymade of the same material as the coverlid, what facilitates themanufacturing thereof.

On the protrusion 25, there is applied a cam 26, which extends downwardwith respect to the first side 17 when the strip 24 extends in the sameplane as the first side. Each cam 26 has a front side 27, as illustratedin FIG. 3, which front side extends substantially perpendicular withrespect to a base plane of the protrusion. Each cam has also a back 28provided with a rounded shape extending downwards from an upper edge ofthe front side 27. A peripheral stroke 29 surrounds a basis of the cam.

The front side 27 of each cam 26 is situated offset over a distance d (1mm<d<3 mm) from the borderline of the strip 24. Because the front sideis offset from the borderline, this front side forms another hinge lineh2 with respect to the coverlid when the protrusions are inserted intothe openings 14 (or 15 when the strip is applied on the border 32) atthe back (or front) of the base recipient.

In order to facilitate the insertion of the protrusions 25 into theopenings 14 (or 15), each protrusion has an arc shaped profile.Preferably, the peripheral stroke has a width w, 3≦w≦6 mm and the camhas a depth situated between 2 and 5 mm.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the openings 14 of the first set of openingsare applied and dimensioned in such a manner as to enable theprotrusions 25 to penetrate through these openings. The openings arepreferably arc shaped and delimited by a linear upper side 30 and an arcshaped under side 31. The upper side 30 extends substantially parallelwith the upper side of the back 4 and is applied at a distance p (3≦p≦7mm) of the latter upper side. The arc shaped part 31 extends downwardsin the back of the base recipient. It should be noticed that a samegeometry applies to the openings 15 when the strip is applied on theborder 32.

FIG. 2 also shows at least one further protrusion 34 applied on a borderof the second side 18 of the cover lid, which border is situatedopposite to the common edge 21 between first and second side. Thefurther protrusion 34 extends offset from the border of the coverlid andhas a configuration similar to the protrusion 25. Of course, the furtherprotrusion 34 could have a different configuration than the one ofprotrusion 25, but in order to render the manufacturing more easy, allthe protrusions have a same configuration. The further protrusions areprovided and dimensioned to penetrate into a second set of opening 15applied on a front side of the base recipient. To this purpose howeverthe further protrusions need to be folded over 180° with respect toborder 32. In such a manner, the further protrusion and the secondopenings form means for locking the coverlid on the base recipient. Ofcourse, the further protrusions and second set of openings are optionaland the locking could be realised by using a piece of adhesive tape.Moreover when the strip 24 is applied on the border 32, the furtherprotrusions are applied on the border of the first side 17.

The application of the coverlid 3 to the base recipient 2 will now bedescribed with reference to the FIGS. 5 to 9. For clarity purpose onlythe embodiment with the strip 24 applied on the first side 17 will bedescribed. Of course an analogous application applies when the strip ismounted on border 32. In order to apply the coverlid on the baserecipient, each of the protrusions 25 is inserted into a respective oneof the first set of openings 14. For this purpose, the coverlid is heldupright with respect to the back 4 and the peripheral stroke 29 is firstentered into the opening 14. Due to its arc shaped profile, thepenetration of the protrusion becomes more easy. As the penetrationprogresses, the rounded shape of the cam will enter the opening. Therounded shape as well as the at least partially arc shaped segment 31 inthe underside of the opening and the dimension of the opening enable aneasy passage of the cam into the opening. The penetration will stopafter that the upper edge of the cam entered into the opening and thefront side 27 of the cam is located inside the base recipient. The arcshape of the openings prevents that the protrusion border falls down onthe underside of the openings.

After insertion of the protrusions 25 into the openings 14, the coverlid3 is rotated anti-clockwise (arrow al). This will cause the cam 25 torotate clockwise inside the base member (FIG. 5; arrow a 2). Indeed, asthe front side 27 contacts the opening along the hinge line h2, thelatter serves as rotational axis. Due to the fact that the strip 24extends between the hinge line h1 and the hinge line h2 and that theprotrusions are offset the strip and the first side 17, the offsetposition of the opening does not hinder the rotation of the coverlidsince the rotation is realised with respect to hinge line h2.

The rotation around the hinge line h2 will cause the protrusion to bemoved towards the inside of the back 4 of the base member until the baseplane of the protrusion contacts this inside (FIG. 7). This will causethe front side 27 of the cam to extend substantially perpendicular tothe back and the hinge line hi to contact an upper border of the back.Since the protrusion is now in contact with the back, she can no longerrotate so that further rotation of the coverlid in the direction ofarrow al will cause the coverlid now to rotate along the hinge line h1thereby leading to a closure of the box (FIGS. 8 and 9). As can be seenin FIG. 9, the front side of the cam extends substantially parallel tothe first side 17 of the coverlid when the strip 24 extendssubstantially perpendicular to the first side.

When the box is provided with the second set of openings 15 and thefurther protrusions 34, the rotation or hinged movement of the coverlidwill cause the further protrusions 34, after having been rotated withrespect to border 32 (arrow a2), to face the openings 15 (see FIG. 10).The continuation of the anti-clockwise rotation of the coverlid willcause the further protrusion 34 to enter its respective opening 15 ofthe second set and penetrate through this opening until the furtherprotrusion is completely located inside the base recipient. The frontside 36 of the further protrusion will then face the inside of thesecond flap 9, thereby locking the coverlid on that second flap.

In order to facilitate the penetration of the further protrusion intothe opening 15, the latter has an arc shaped profile 35 extendingupwards as illustrated in FIG. 11. As the arc shaped profile is obtainedby a cutting applied into the material of the base recipient, a tongue37 is obtained (see FIG. 12) that protrudes from the bottom side 5 ofthe base recipient. Two cuts 38 and 39 are provided along theextremities of the arc shaped profile 38. The cuts permit a resilientmovement of this part of the second flap when the further protrusionenters the opening 15 or when the further protrusion is pulled out ofthe opening for opening the box.

FIG. 13 a+b show another embodiment of a box according to the invention.The latter embodiment distinguishes over the one described here beforeby using a closure lip 41, applied on the second side 18, instead of afurther protrusion. The closure lip is preferably applied on a lowercentral part of the second side. When the box is closed, the closure lip41 engages into a slit 40, applied on the second flap 9, as illustratedin FIG. 14. The slit is preferably applied on a lower central part ofthe second flap. The slit 40 thus has the same function as the secondset of openings 15. The closure lip preferably has an omega or arcshaped pattern and is obtained by applying a die-cut in the material ofwhich the second side 18 is made. The closure lip is bendable along ahinge line 42. Upon closing the box, the closure lip 41 will reach thefront side of the slit 40. The user will then engage the closure lipinto the slit by bending the closure lip along the hinge line 42. Oncethe closure lip is engaged into the slit, the coverlid is attached withopposite sides on the base recipient, thereby providing a secureconnection between the base recipient and the cover lid.

1. A box, in particular a pastry box, comprising a cover lid and a baserecipient, said cover lid being removable applied on said baserecipient, said cover lid comprising a first side provided to form a topplane and a second side provided to form a front plane of said box, saidfirst and second side having a common edge, characterised in that aborder of one of said first or second sides, which border is situatedopposite to said common edge, is provided with a strip, which stripextends substantially perpendicular to the side on which it is appliedwhen said cover lid is mounted on said base recipient, said strip beingprovided with at least one protrusion extending offset from a borderlineof said strip, on said protrusion there being applied a cam having afront side extending in a direction substantially parallel to said firstside when said strip extends substantially perpendicular with respect tosaid first side in such a manner as to extend inside said base recipientwhen said cover lid is mounted on said base recipient, said front sidebeing situated offset from said borderline, said base recipient beingprovided with a first set of openings dimensioned in such a manner as toenable said protrusion to penetrate through said opening, said frontside of each of said cams forming a hinge line for said cover lid whensaid protrusions have penetrated through said openings.
 2. The box asclaimed in claim 1, characterised in that said strip is hingedly appliedon said side of said cover lid and extends along a further hinge line,which further hinge line extends over substantially a whole length ofsaid border.
 3. The box as claimed in claim 1, characterised in thatsaid strip is applied on said first side and said first set of openingsis applied on a back of said base recipient.
 4. The box as claimed inclaim 1, characterised in that said protrusion comprises a base plane,said front side of said cam extending substantially perpendicular withrespect to said base plane, each of said cams having a back providedwith a rounded shape extending downwards from an upper edge of saidfront side.
 5. The box as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that saidprotrusion has an arc shaped profile.
 6. The box as claimed in claim 1,characterised in that said protrusion comprises a peripheral strokesurrounding a basis of said cam.
 7. The box as claimed in claim 1,characterised in that said protrusion has an arc shaped profile andcomprises a peripheral stroke surrounding a basis of said cam.
 8. Thebox as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that said further hinge lineis formed by cuts segmentwise applied in said material of said coverlid.
 9. The box as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that said secondside comprises a further border situated opposite to said common edgeand provided with at least one further protrusion extending offset fromsaid further border, said base recipient being provided with a secondset of openings applied on a front side of said base recipient anddimensioned in such a manner as to enable said further protrusion topenetrate through said opening of said second set.
 10. The box asclaimed in claim 1, characterised in that said cover lid compriseslateral sides linked to said first and second side, said lateral sidesbeing triangularly shaped.
 11. The box as claimed in claim 10,characterised in that said second side is trapezium shaped, said commonedge forming a top side of said trapezium.
 12. The box as claimed inclaim 1, characterised in that said first side comprises a first and asecond elongated cavity extending each time along a lateral border ofsaid first side.
 13. The box as claimed in claim 1, characterised inthat said openings of said first set are arc shaped.
 14. The box asclaimed in claim 1, characterised in that said base recipient comprisesa first flap extending from an upper border of said back, in such amanner as to contact said first side of said cover lid when mounted onsaid base recipient.
 15. The box as claimed in claim 14, characterisedin that said first flap is trapezium shaped.
 16. The box as claimed inclaim 1, characterised in that said base recipient comprises a secondflap extending from a base plane of said base recipient in such a manneras to contact said second side of said cover lid when mounted on saidbase recipient.
 17. The box as claimed in claim 16, characterised inthat said second flap is trapezium shaped.
 18. The box as claimed inclaim 1, characterised in that said back is trapezium shaped, an upperborder of said back forming the upper border of the trapezium.
 19. Thebox as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that said cover lid is madeof transparent plastic material.
 20. The box as claimed in claim 1,characterised in that said second side of said coverlid is provided witha closure lid and said base recipient with a slit, said closure lidbeing provided to engage into said slit upon closing said box.